Written by

Jamie McGee

The Tennessean

A jogger runs by a National Register Historic District sign of the Belmont-Hillsboro Neighborhood along Belmont Boulevard in Nashville, Tenn., Friday, Nov. 1, 2013. / Jae S. Lee / The Tennessean

NEIGHBORHOOD HISTORY

1800s: The Belmont-Hillsboro area is part of the estates of Adelicia Acklen and Col. A.B. Montgomery. 1853: Acklen and Joseph Acklen build Belmont Mansion. 1890, 1891: Older sections of the neighborhood are subdivided. 1901: Belmont Land Co. secures a franchise to run a street railway line along Belmont Boulevard. Post-World War II: Cars replace streetcars, property values decline, single-family homes are divided into rental units. 1970s: The neighborhood gains value as more people seek to live closer to universities and urban core, and an ongoing phase of renovation begins. 1971: Belmont Mansion is added to National Register of Historic Places. 1973: Athlete’s House, started by David Graeflin, opens on Portland Avenue. 1975: International Market & Restaurant opens on Belmont Boulevard, owned by Patti Myint. 1993: Bongo Java opens on Belmont Boulevard. 2003: Belmont University adds the Curb Event Center, which includes retail outlets and the Curb Café along Belmont Boulevard. 2005: Metro Council passes Belmont-Hillsboro Neighborhood Conservation Zoning Overlay, eventually protecting more than 1,000 properties. Sources: Belmont-Hillsboro Neighbors Inc., Belmont Mansion Association

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When Bill Ramsey moved to the Belmont-Hillsboro neighborhood in 1982, he bought a house with two roommates who were each looking for cheap living.

“People warned me it was a terrible neighborhood to move into,” said Ramsey, who today lives in the same house with his wife, Lisa Ramsey. “They thought it was a lot of crime, the houses weren’t in good shape, it was kind of run-down. As time moved on, people realized it was one of the best places in town to move to.”

Now, 30 years later, the area can no longer boast cheap real estate, but instead offers clusters of retail, restaurants and coffee shops, tree-lined streets and heavily populated sidewalks, all nestled between Belmont University, Vanderbilt University and Lipscomb University. The neighborhood attracts students, professors, musicians, young families and those, like Ramsey, who have been there for decades, and all the while maintaining its historical feel, with some buildings dating back to the early 1900s.

The neighborhood was part of Adelicia Acklen and Colonel A.B. Montgomery’s estates, part of which was subdivided in the 1890s, according to Belmont-Hillsboro Neighbors Inc.. In the early 1900s, depending on the decade, bungalows, cottages, foursquare and Tudor homes were built, many of which still stand today, alongside more contemporary designs.

Bob Bernstein was among the area’s first business owners to set up shop along Belmont Boulevard in its most recent development, and a corner is now dotted with retail and restaurants, including Arnold Myint’s PM and blvd. Bernstein opened the Bongo Java coffee shop in 1993, when the International Market & Restaurant across the street was one of just a few businesses that existed there. He later opened Fido in nearby Hillsboro Village, an area that attracts tourists, students and residents to its shops, independent movie theater and dining options, which include The Pancake Pantry.

“I like it because it’s diverse,” Bernstein said. “The neighborhood is obviously getting more expensive all the time, but it still seems to have that fun mix of artists, musicians, lawyers, doctors, professionals, etc. ... We get families, we get everything. Both are walking neighborhoods. People bring their dogs, people ride bicycles. It feels like community.”

For those reasons, the neighborhood’s profile and prices have increased. Ramsey estimates his property value has climbed 10-fold from what he and his friends originally paid for it. But he has no plans to cash in any time soon, pointing to the neighborhood feel as something that is difficult to replicate.

“It’s become really like a close-knit family neighborhood,” Ramsey said. “Most neighborhoods in Nashville, you don’t know everybody on your street. I know most everybody on my block.”

Contact Jamie McGee at 615-259-8071 or jmcgee@tennessean.com. You can follow her on Twitter at @jamiemcgee_.